“Example Based Learning”

What is Example Based Learning? Traditional Presenting a principle, rule or theorem, providing a worked out example, and then giving one or more problems for students to solve. Better Using a series of worked out examples with successively faded worked-out steps.

Benefits of Example Base Learning In the initial stages of cognitive skill acquisition, learners have limited prior knowledge and are unable to use domain specific strategies. The transition to deeper understanding is facilitated by faded examples. Example Based Learning can increase student learning by prompting self explanations. Example Based Learning has been shown to be the information source preferred by learners. Specifically, given a choice, learners choose examples over text. In a computer based learning environment, Example Based Learning is especially effective because the examples are user driven.

Guidelines for Creating Example Based Learning Lessons Self-Explanation Guideline: Create examples which encourage learners to explain rationale to themselves. Help Guideline: Provide minimal example related instructional explanation on learner demand. Easy-Mapping Guideline: Design examples so that the relations between different representations can be easily detected. Structure Emphasizing Guideline: Make the relevant structural features salient so the learner can detect the problem type in terms of their solution relevant structure. Meaningful Building Block Guideline: Facilitate the isolation of meaningful building blocks in worked out procedures which can be applied to new problem structures.

Drawbacks to Example Based Learning Very effective in disciplines where the solutions to problems are algorithmic in nature, like math, physics, computer programming or chemistry, but difficult to apply in other settings, like art or literature for example. Leads the learner to only one method of solution as opposed to allowing for different approaches.